The term “freeholder” predates New Jersey in history, but some who hold the office are pushing to rid county government of the title, which they call anachronistic and offensive.

Officials in two counties in recent weeks have argued it’s time to change the longtime term for county governing bodies, the Board of Chosen Freeholders, to something more modern and inclusive.

In late December, the Monmouth County freeholders flirted with the idea, passing a non-binding resolution recommending the state Legislature change the title from freeholder to county commissioner. The resolution was overturned, however, when a Republican majority took over the county body this month.

David Gard/For The Star-LedgerSomerset County Freeholder Director Jack Ciattarelli looks over papers during a meeting earlier this month.

Newly minted Somerset County Freeholder Director Jack Ciattarelli broached the subject in his inaugural speech earlier this month, saying it was time for New Jersey to drop “its dubious distinction” of being the only state in the country to use the term.

“I do feel as though it’s an antiquated term and in many respects an insulting title,” Ciattarelli said. “When you look at how the title came to be in colonial times the only people were allowed to vote were the men that owned land. They were the ‘freeholders.’”

Ciattarelli said he favors adopting a more common and inclusive term, such as commissioner.

“I think that in New Jersey there remains a great deal of misunderstanding amongst citizens as to what county government does and what a freeholder is,” he said. “I do think a change in the title of the office would lend itself to people better understanding an important aspect of their government.”

Enacting such a change would require action by the Legislature, who would need to vote to alter the statutes for county government to replace freeholder with commissioner or another agreed upon term. The governor would then have to sign the enabling legislation.

Ciattarelli said he plans to detail his feelings on the subject in an e-mail to the other 20 freeholder directors in the state.

The word freeholder dates backs to pre-colonial England and was used to describe men who owned their land “free and clear” of the king, according William Lutz, a linguist and professor emeritus at Rutgers-Camden.

But while other states adopted names like commissioner to describe their county officials following the Revolutionary War, in New Jersey, the term freeholder persisted.

Lutz said purging the freeholder title from the state in favor of county commissioner or county executive would be a “reasonable, simple modernization.”

“The key word there is county,” he said. “When I moved to New Jersey I said ‘What the hell is a freeholder?’ I had to look it up. I think it just makes it clearer for people to understand. There’s not even a ritualistic reason for hanging onto that kind of language.”

Monmouth Freeholder John D’Amico, who initially led the charge to pass the resolution, said his resolution being overturned should not get in the way of moving beyond using a term that originally applied only to “white male landowners.”

“I don’t think that changes the conversation which I think should occur throughout New Jersey. It is apparently in the interest of the the Republican Party in New Jersey to keep things as ambiguous as they’ve always been,” D’Amico, a Democrat, said.

Ciattarelli’s colleague, Somerset County Freeholder Peter Palmer, who is vice president of the New Jersey County Association, said the issue has come up before but he’s skeptical about its implementation or even that will gain any traction in a state mired in a financial crisis.

“It’s probably not just a matter of changing a letterhead,” he said. “There are things I do get passionate about but this isn’t one of them. I think there are more important matters to deal with. In recent years it seems like someone is always bringing the subject up. We’ll see if there are serious efforts on it this time around.”